What is the meaning of less?

adjective

• Comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns. ( a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree)
  • usage: "of less importance"; "less time to spend with the family"; "a shower uses less water"; "less than three years old"
• Usually preceded by `no'. ( lower in quality)
  • usage: "no less than perfect"
• Nonstandard in some uses but often idiomatic with measure phrases. ( fewer)
  • usage: "less than three weeks"; "no less than 50 people attended"; "in 25 words or less"
• Limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent.
  • usage: "a little dining room"; "a little house"; "a small car"; "a little (or small) group"
  • synonyms: small, little
• Quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some. (
  • usage: "little rain fell in May"; "gave it little thought"; "little time is left"; "we still have little money"; "a little hope remained"; "there's slight chance that it will work"; "there's a slight chance it will work"
  • synonyms: little, slight
• Of children and animals. ( young, immature)
  • usage: "what a big little boy you are"; "small children"
  • synonyms: little, small
• Informal) small and of little importance. (
  • usage: "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"
  • synonyms: fiddling, footling, lilliputian, little, niggling, piddling, piffling, petty, picayune, trivial
• Of a voice. ( faint)
  • usage: "a little voice"; "a still small voice"
  • synonyms: little, small
• Low in stature; not tall.
  • usage: "he was short and stocky"; "short in stature"; "a short smokestack"; "a little man"
  • synonyms: short, little
• Lowercase.
  • usage: "little a"; "small a"; "e. E. Cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters"
  • synonyms: little, minuscule, small
• Small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context. )
  • usage: "a nice little job"; "bless your little heart"; "my dear little mother"; "a sweet little deal"; "I'm tired of your petty little schemes"; "filthy little tricks"; "what a nasty little situation"
  • synonyms: little

adverb

• Used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs.
  • usage: "less interesting"; "less expensive"; "less quickly"
  • synonyms: to a lesser extent
• Comparative of little.
  • usage: "she walks less than she should"; "he works less these days"
• Not much.
  • usage: "he talked little about his family"
  • synonyms: little